Bridgestone reports soaring annual profit

Bridgestone also posted an upbeat forecast for the current year, saying it expects a 37% jump in net profit to 235 billion yen from 2012 on sales of 3.55 trillion yen, up 17%, thanks to the weakening yen. Photo: AFP

Tokyo: Tyre maker Bridgestone said on Monday its net profit last year soared 67% to $1.83 billion as it cemented a recovery from a year earlier when the quake-tsunami hammered Japan’s manufacturers.

Bridgestone said it earned 171.61 billion yen in the year to December as sales rose 1% to 3.04 trillion yen, with the bottom line partly boosted by higher tyre prices.

Unlike many Japanese firms, Bridgestone reports its financial results on a calendar-year basis.

The company “focused on increasing the sales of highly competitive products... improving manufacturing productivity, enhancing technology and effectively utilising our management resources”, it said in a statement.

Bridgestone also posted an upbeat forecast for the current year, saying it expects a 37% jump in net profit to 235 billion yen from 2012 on sales of 3.55 trillion yen, up 17%, thanks to the weakening yen.

The currency has been in a steep decline in recent months, helping make Japan’s exporters more competitive overseas and inflating the relative value of income earned overseas.

Bridgestone credited new products including higher-end offerings and rebounding auto production in disaster-struck Japan for its rosy annual results, while strong sales in Asia helped offset declines in Europe.